Hello,

I am sitting on a lounge chair in the Dominican Republic overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I am here with my grandson and his parents to celebrate his fourth birthday. For those of you in the colder climes, it has been sunny and 85 degrees for the past four days. We are here with one of my son’s friends who grew up here and is showing us his country. We are not on a resort, but we are staying in a small town, rubbing shoulders with the people. It has been a wonderful time.

As we were getting acquainted with our “tour guide”, he said to me, knowing that I am a pastor, “I am not a believer,” almost apologetically. I already knew that as my son had told me of his friend’s exclusion of God in his life. So, when he told me that he was not a believer, I was not surprised, but I wish I had been smarter. My response to him was, “That’s okay,” as I am not here to judge my son’s friend, but to experience his country and get to know the people. Like I said, I wish that I was smarter, because in hind thought, I wish I would have said, “Well, the God that I believe in still loves you.”

You see, he is a rather rough and tumble guy, and he has left in his wake a bunch of life’s refuse. Since he is significantly older than my son (he’s a coworker), he has put a lot of miles on his life. “Crusty” and “rebel” might be the best words to describe him. He grew up in a very religiously legalistic home in the mountains of the Dominican Republic from which he has demonstratively strayed, but all in all a very friendly and welcoming guy. It has been a delight getting to know him, and I hope that he would say the same of me.

I suspect he was a bit nervous about being our “tour guide”. For one, I know he wanted to roll out the red carpet for us. And secondly, I don’t think he has spent concentrated time with a pastor for years. I know he did not want to offend me in our time together, and I think he feared my judgment. I am sure that his candid confession of not being a believer was said with some fear and trepidation. “I am not a believer.”

I wish I had been quicker on my feet.. Although my response seemed to put him at ease, I wish my response could have done more. I wish my response would have spoken more deeply to his fears of my judgment, rather than just speaking to his intellectual theological position. I wish I would have said, “The God I believe in still loves you.”

I am certain that he is not alone in his confession. As a matter of fact, I think that disbelief in God is an honest confession that everyone wrestles with, some with more ferocity than others. I, myself, can find myself on this divine wrestling with some regularity, and when I am trying to pin my disbelief down, I hear two things. One thing I hear from the coach saying, “If you want to stay on this team, you better get a pin.” The other thing I hear is from the fans, cheering me on just for being on the floor, “Go at it. We’ve got your back!”

That is who I wished I was to our “tour guide” when he told me that disbelief was getting the best of him. I wish that I would have said something for him to know that I am glad to have him on my disbelief wrestling team. Something that would have conveyed to him that as far as I am concerned, and as far as God is concerned, it isn’t how victorious he was in his battles with disbelief. What matters is how successful God is in God’s battle with disbelief, and God pinned disbelief at the end of a three-day match….pinned forever.

So, today, as you get up from the wrestling mat, tired and worn out, I am throwing this Bungee Cord at you like a towel, and I say to you what I wish I had said to our guide friend, “The God that I believe in loves you."

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Like

Comment

Send

Share